Rail-joint.



PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904.

M. BARSCHALL.

' RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 11, 1903.

NO MODBL.

lllllH INVENTOI? M awn M WITNESSES.

A; ATTORNEYS rmvvacaa UNITED STATES Patented November 22, 1904,

,ATENT Fri-cu.

MAX BARSOHALL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGN OR TO SOPHIE BAR- SOHALL, OFNEW YORK, N. Y.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 775,643, dated November22, 1904.

Application filed August 11, 1903. Serial No. 169,112- (N0 model.)

bridge the gap between the ends of the main rails. In constructions ofthis character difficulty has often been experienced owing to theformation on the tread of a wheel as the same wears in service of a buror false flange which is liable to climb upon the auxiliary rail.

The object of my present invention is chiefly to prevent contact of thesaid false flange with the tread-surface of the auxiliary rail. For

this purpose I employ a main rail having an unsymmetrical head andcombine this main rail with an auxiliary rail or support in theparticular manner that will be set forth hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1is a sectional elevation of my improved rail-joint, taken on line 1 1 ofFig. 2;- and Fig. 2 is a plan of the joint.

A indicates the heads of the main rails, B their webs, and O theirbases. The base is symmetrical; but the head A is unsymmetricalrelatively to the web B, the larger portion of the head being located onthe inside of the railthat is, toward the flange D of the carwheel. Theauxiliary rail or support has a head E with a transversely-slopedsurface F and an approximately horizontal tread-surface G. The ends ofthe auxiliary rail are preferably sloped longitudinally, as shown at Hin Fig. 2, so as to cause the wheels to pass without a jar from the mainrails to the auxiliary rail, and vice versa. The head Emay beunsymmetrical with reference to the web I of the auxiliary rail, and thebase J of the auxiliary rail is cut away on one side, so as to admit ofthe reception of the main-rail base O. The auxiliary rail is also formedat the lower end of its web with a projection K, upon which rests thelower end of adouble-headed fillingpiece M. This filling-piece engagesthe webs B and I at their upper and lower ends and is provided with astem N, perforated for the passage of the bolt O, which has verticalplay in the filling-piece, as shown. The bolt has a relatively tight fitin the web I and in a fishplate P, which engages the main rails on theinside. Nuts Q and washers R or any other suitable device serve tosecure the structure together. The bolts O may also have some verticalplay in the webs B of the main rails.

My invention relates generally to any construction in which the mainrails A are combined with any auxiliary support which bridges the joint.The particular manner of connecting and supporting the rails (shown inthe accompanying drawings) is not claimed as part of my presentinvention, and I desire it to be understood that other means might beemployed for the same purpose.

Fig. 1 shows at S the so-called false flange which is formed upon thewheels in consequence of uneven wear. This figure also shows that thetread-surface of the auxiliary rail will not come in contact with thefalse flange, yet a bearingsurface of suflicient width is afforded bythe main rail and auxiliary rail.

By my improved construction a smooth running of the wheels over thejoints is secured, and all danger of accidents from a climbing of thefalse flange upon the auxiliary rail is avoided. It will be seen thatthe plane of contact of the rail-heads lies centrally between the webs Band I and that the filling-piece M is located symmetrically with respectto this plane of contact. Thus, notwithstanding the unsymmetricalconstruction of the rail-head A, I secure a practically symmetricalsupport and minimize or avoid altogether such strain as might tend totip the rail. It will be obvious that if the web B were placedsymmetrically to the head A the construction would be objectionable,because the size of the chamber between the webs B I would be enlarged,thus necessitating the employment of a heavier and more expensivefilling-piece and losing to some extent the advantage of compactness andstrength. Moreover, the plane of contact of the heads A E would nolonger be exactly coincident with the central plane of the fillingpieceM, and thus the latter would not support the joint evenly. It would notbe possible in practice to avoid the defects just mentioned by placingthe web B centrally of the head A and shifting the web I outward, sothat the plane of contact of the two heads A E would still lie centrallybetween the webs B and I, for the reason, first, that such aconstruction would increase the width of the filling-piece chamber andthe weight of the filling-piece even more than the construction justreferred to, and, second, the web I would be brought so far outward asto make it a rather unreliable support for the head E, it beingremembered that the total bearing-surface formed by the tread-surface ofthe main rail A and the tread-surface G of the auxiliary support E mustnot exceed a maximum dimension depending on the width of the wheelrims.The advantage of my improved construction will therefore be obvious.

I claim as my invention 1. A rail-joint comprising a main rail having anunsymmetrical head, and an auxiliary rail the head of which is incontact with that of the main rail on that side where the said headprojects least from the center, the webs of the said rails being locatedat the same distance from the plane of contact of their heads.

2. A rail-joint comprising a main rail having an unsymmetrical head, andan auxiliary rail the head of which engages that of the main rail onthat side where it projects least from the center, the webs of the saidrails being located at the same distance from the plane of contact oftheir heads, and the auxiliary rail having its base recessed to receivea portion of the main-rail base, and being provided with a projectionabove said recess.

3. A rail-joint comprising a main rail, the head of which isunsymmetrical to the web, the narrower portion of the rail-head being onthe outside thereof, and an .auxiliary support constructed to bridge thegap between two alined main rails, and having its head in engagementwith the narrower portions of the main-rail heads.

4:. A rail-joint comprising a main rail, the head of which isunsymmetrical to the web, the narrower portion of the rail-head being onthe outside thereof, and an auxiliary support constructed to bridge thegap between two alining main rails, and having its head in engagementwith the narrower portions of the main-rail heads, said auxiliarysupport having a web located at the same distance from the verticalplane of contact of the heads as the web of the main rail.

5. A rail-joint comprising a main rail, the head of which isunsymmetrical to the web, the narrower portion of the rail-head being onthe outside thereof, an auxiliary rail constructed to bridge the gapbetween adjacent main rails, and having its head in engagement with thenarrower portions of the main-rail heads, the webs of the auxiliary railand of the main rail being located at the same distance from the planeof contact of the railheads, and a filling-piece resting on the bases ofthe auxiliary rail and main rail and engaging the lower surfaces oftheirheads.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

MAX BARSGHALL.

Witnesses:

LEO J. FRANKENTHAL, L. MOSER.

